If a guy likes taking it up his behind, with "it" being his girlfriend's strap-on, does this mean that he will like taking the real thing? Curious about this question after reading Anne Douglas' Curious Intimacies, I picked up the phone and asked a friend of mine. He's a certified doctor specializing in this kind of thing, so I'd like to believe that he knows what he is saying. He said that some men like it when their lovers play with their rear ends, from the use of one's tongue to stimulate the tissue around their... you know... to even the act of penetration using fingers or a strap-on device. However, this does not necessarily translate to the man being gay.

He then asked me why I wanted to know about this and, what do you know, all of a sudden the kettle was boiling and I needed to hang up on him. I have better warn my husband the next time we visit this friend of mine and he starts getting odd looks from everybody. Anyway, this is just some friendly PSA from me so that you don't panic when your boyfriend asks you to shove that cucumber up his rear end. That is, as long as you don't have any other reason to suspect that he may swing that way. If he insists on rewriting the gay love scenes in your slash story because he insists that he knows how guys do it to each other much better than you, that's when you may want to push the panic button.

Oh, I digress. About this story, as you can deduce by now, it features a guy who likes taking the strap-on worn by his girlfriend up his rear end. Jason has too much fun when Lucy does him doggy-style, so he decides to make a move on his gay friend Shane in order to, er, confirm that he probably swings both ways. Shane is shocked when Jason wants a kiss from him, but he soon becomes intrigued when he hears from Jason how Lucy uses this eight-inch weapon of mass destruction on Jason. The next thing you know, all three of them are having the time of their life together.

Yes, this is a happy ménage à trois short story, but it has an erotica bent to it. Which is to say, Ms Douglas is not trying too hard to turn this into a romance. In this case, she doesn't create forced situations to force her three characters into bed. No "We must protect her!" or "It is destined that she is both our lifemates!" stuff here. Instead, this one is all about sheer unadulterated pleasure for the sake of pleasure. And what do you know, I find the whole thing pretty romantic, heh.

The dynamics of the three people are also not what you'd typically find in a more typical threesome story. Lucy has her turn behind the wheel, giving orders and what not. In fact, I'd say that Ms Douglas comes this close to breaking the "No Domme, please!" rule of Ellora's Cave with her portrayal of Lucy. The sexuality of the three characters are pretty fluid here, which I feel when it comes to erotica is the best way to go if you have to go, heh.

Erotic, unforced, and just going with the flow, Curious Intimacies is all about the lighter and enjoyable side of kinky sex. The characters are adorable and they clearly like each other. They also enjoy what they do with each other, and as a result, this is a fun erotic story to read. If you are tired of all those tedious threesome stories bogged down by weird plots or neurotic characters and are looking for a story that just wants to get down and dirty without making any apologies, this one may be what you are looking for.